Handsome Carlos is 18 years of age and is going well at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, run by the BOS Foundation in Central Kalimantan. He is getting heavier, with growing cheek flanges and thick, reddish-brown hair. Despite his looks, he is not an aggressive orangutan, and is friendly towards the technicians and vets. With a gentle gaze, he welcomes technicians who approach to offer him enrichment or fruits and vegetables.
Carlos certainly enjoys all the food and various enrichment that is offered to him. He is always eager to forage for the food inside the enrichment device whether it be a feeder ball, stuffed cardboard box or a dipping log. He is even happier if the hidden fruits are bananas or melon. He will always eat these two fruits first before eating any other food. Carlos will insert a finger into the hole to retrieve the bananas hidden within. He pulls bananas out one at a time, and sometimes also uses twigs to pry them out.
In the last few months, rain has fallen almost daily at Nyaru Menteng. Carlos spends his days laying in the blue barrel, playing with the enrichment tools provided by the orangutan technicians, or dangling on the enrichment structures installed in his enclosure that resemble liana roots. The BOS Foundation has recently released ten orangutans into the wild after a 12-month hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions. Now that releases have commenced again, more room will open up on the pre-release islands so hopefully Carlos will be able to return here soon.
